Good Shepherd Sisters in the Philippines
concluded the Province Assembly held in Quezon City.
The pre-chapter Assembly was participated
in by apostolic and contemplative sisters who early in the year signified their
modes of participation in the March 14- 24 Province Chapter. Mode I, Full Participation that
includes, prayer, preparations and attendance in the chapter itself; Mode II, Partial Participation- prayers
and preparations; and Mode III, prayers. All those in Modes I, II and III have
been invited to the Province Assembly on November 13-14.
Sr. M. Cecilia Torres, province leader, welcomed the participants and called on
them to spend a minute of silence for the victims and the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.
The Assembly participants totalled 119, among them 101 perpetually professed
apostolic sisters, 15 contemplative sisters and 3 temporary professed sisters
(1 contemplative and 2 apostolic).
The assembly was preceded by a meeting of chapter delegates (Mode I) to the 2014 Province Chapter. The forthcoming chapter is the
10th Province Chapter, and the second open chapter. The first
Province Chapter in the Philippines, was in 1970, ten years after the
establishment of the Philippine Province on December 3, 1960.Sr. M. Christine Tan was elected the first Filipina Provincial. Since the Philippine foundation
in 1912 until 1945, the country was under the Mother House in Angers, France and from 1945-1960, the Philippines
became part of the Los Angeles Province. When established a Province, the Philippines was led by Sr. Mary John of the Cross Kroner who served for 10 years.
November 12 Meeting
The Prep Com organized a meeting of Mode I participants to the 2014 Chapter on
November 12 to provide them with the necessary data and information that can
help delegates prepare for productive chapter deliberations. The delegates also
looked back on the cluster meetings held at the Heart of Mary Villa in Quezon
City for NCR (National Capital Region); Maryridge, Tagaytay City for
Cavite-Batangas-Baguio-Isabela; Betania Retreat House in Iriga City for Bicol
Region; and Villa Maria in Cebu City for Visayas-Mindanao.
There were presentations of Collated Comments and Suggestion on the 2008 Broad
Directions and Teams Reports by Formation, Good Shepherd Partnership, Ministry,
MARTA (Material Resources), Leadership and the Journey of Enrichment. The
collated suggested priorities from the four cluster meetings were given and the
2014 Chapter objectives and tentative schedule were presented. The guidelines
for chapter participation were also discussed.
In the evening, sisters gathered to discuss the plans for relief and
rehabilitation of the victims of typhoon Yolanda.
Province Assembly November 13-14
The two-day assembly was aimed at
facilitating the reflection process of the sisters in discerning the province
priorities for the next six years and to surface the names of possible Province
Leader.
Photo: Fr. Fred Dulay MJ and Good Shepherd Sisters.
Fr. Fred Dulay of the Missionaries of Jesus, facilitator of the Assembly,
talked about 'Prophetic Imagination and Religious Leadership." He described the reality of a congregational culture, the situation of contemporary religious congregations, the prophetic imagination-- the religious leader as prophetic cultural change- agent., leadership as power and authority, the qualiites the provincial needs especially during a time of crucial transition.
Other topics discussed were Evaluation on how the province implemented the
Congregational Chapter Threads; Copies of the Evaluation of the Province 2008
Broad Directions by the Evaluation Committee composed of Srs. Catalina Santos,
Natividad Lucero and Socorro Galvez, as reflected on the Community Goals, were distributed.
Shared to the sisters were also the
collated responses that touched on RGS Culture/Lifestyle, RGS Identity.
Sr. M. Guadalupe Bautista also helped in the process of determining if the
sisters preferred appointment or election for their leaders, and engaged the
participants in a communal discernment of the possible leaders. Sisters who did
not attend the assembly were earlier sent forms for the individual consultation.
The priorities of the province are Prophetic Ministries, Good Shepherd Spirituality/Wholistic Formation, Partnership with the Laity, Vocation Ministry, Leadership and Governance and Stewardship for Mission. Sr. Cecilia and Sr. Guadalupe announced that after consultation and discernment, six sisters are open to the possibility of guiding the Good Shepherd Sisters in the Philippines as leader.
The gathering concluded with liturgy at the Good Shepherd Chapel and an agape at the Heart of Mary Villa.